#ElvesAreFamilySims

[elfpuddle]

Just a note to say I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. My job is a bit overwhelming at the moment, my best friends are getting divorced, and my mom had surgery this week to remove a growth that is indeed cancerous.

Thank you in advance for your prayers

[elfpuddle]

So proud of these kings!!

absolutely stellar

[elfpuddle]

Maybe this would be of help to you or someone you know?

[elfpuddle]

15 Questions Tag

Thanks for the tag @charmandersims ! I do love these! (VainElvesAreVain)

Are you named after anyone?

My first name is from the jilted wife in a famous love story movie. (Wife who in real life died of syphyllis thanks to the husband and his mistress.) My middle name is from my mother's sister.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Sometime earlier this week, but I'm not sure when. Life has been stressfull for a few years.

3. Do you have kids?

Yes. I have two step-children, one of whom hasn't talked to us in several years, and a baby who died in the first trimester. I hate the phrase "lost a baby". I didn't lose him. He died.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot.

A lot. A really freaking lot.

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

I swim and used to love volleyball, when I still had reasonably healthy knees.

6. What's the first thing you notice about other people?

Smiles. Are they smiling? Do they look like they smile a lot?

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings!! I've had enough fear in my life. I used to watch scary movies, but can't any more.

8. Where were you born?

In a hospital on a U.S. Army Base.

9. Any special talents?

I'm a great nanny and teacher. The littles-they love me.

10. What are your hobbies?

video games, board games, quilting, sewing, swimming, reading, watching action films...

11. Do you have any pets?

I had dogs, cats, and birds growing up, but HubbyTMC and I both struggle with multiple allergies, so it's not a great idea.

12. How tall are you?

I'm a hair under 6'0". I'm tall. (But I'm the shortest of my siblings.)

13. Fave subject in school?

English, Math, and Choir. Especially Geometery!!

14. Dream job

Full-time mom and homeschooler.

15. Eye colour

Storm-cloud-blue

Like char, I'm going to tag 15 people like it told me to, but if you don't want to be tagged just ignore this and if you wish you had been, just say I tagged you anyway 🧡

@grilledcheese-aspiration, @unprofessionalcat, @untidyfan, @yandereplumsim, @zoragraves, @alwaysabeautifullife, @iwouldlovetoeatyourtoast, @keoni-chan, @that-catholic-shinobi, @catherinetcjd, @roguebotanist, @keepcatholic, @momentsbeforemass, @thatonegothcatholic, @clouseplayssims

[elfpuddle]

List five things that make you happy, then put this in the ask box of the last ten people who reblogged something from you. Spread the positivity ✨💛🌻

My parish is a great community. Arriving for a Mass, or a fish fry, or Stations of the Cross...going there for any reason is like walking into the bar at Cheers.

Holy Week. We human are so fickle and broken. On Palm Sunday, we welcomed Christ into Jerusalem by shouting Hosannas and wanting Him to be our King on Earth. On Wednesday, Judas sold Him out, and midnight Thursday night/Friday morning, we were shouting that He needed to be crucified and traded for a revolutionary and serial killer. AND YET. He Loves us so much that He willingly died to save our broken hearts and forgive us. That much love amazes me.

The children in my Village. The four-year-old who always says my name with a question mark on the last syllable, and not just because she asks me silly questions expecting a silly answer. The other four-year-old who offers to clean your whole house for you because she wants to show her love. The nine-year-old who has so many impulsive bad habits, but asks you with all sincerity to pray for her so she'll stop them. The seven-year-old who told me that the worst part of her day was that her favorite stuffy got lunch on her ear and face, and so she had to wash it off and it was traumatic because it almost didn't come off. The two-year-old who will happily give you besos on the cheek if his dad or mom is holding him, but will scream "NO" and run if he's not being held....they are such lights in my life.

The tweens in my Village. Three middle-school boys who are not ashamed to hugs their "aunts" goodbye at the end of evening together. They play hard and love hard and pray hard.

The teens in my Village. They are growing into such beautiful and faithful women. They are such a joy to chat with and a delight to see blossom

[elfpuddle]

“Long” was seven days and the nights between, and rustic, for kids, not families. “Short” was five days and no nights. We worked at all of them or we couldn’t have afforded it. I have washed so many dishes at camp!

Each summer was one week of each, so not a lot of time away from what our family did together.

[elfpuddle]

RepliesAndAnswers

About Olivia’s dud of a birthday party,

@charmandersims​ replied:

@phoebe-twiddle​ said, “oh no D:”,

@sushigal007​ replied, “Oops”, and

@grimbunnies​ said, “‘Real dud’ feels like an understatement...”

It was an awful playsession. I really, really really, REALLY did not want to hit save. I did, and it hurt me deeply. And then, in response to Alec’s birthday party,

@grimbunnies said, “​ Gideon, NO “

I couldn’t agree more. During my time with the hood so far, Kitty has tried to hop into bed/hot/tub/whatever with, in no particular order, Bea, Brian, Billie, Ollie, Francine, a random townie whose name I’ve forgotten, Griffin, George, and Gideon. Hers is a death I’m sort of looking forward to. There’ll be less drama, for sure! Thank you for following along on the journey. I’m sorry for all the damage they’re doing to us all. I think @grimbunnies​ summed it up better than I could:

[elfpuddle]

Get to know me tag

Tagged by @charmandersims, for whom I’m very grateful!!

Favourite Colour? Blue-teal...that sea greeny blue lovely brightness that those without words can’t decide if it’s blue or green.

Currently Reading? (I’m so glad reading more than one book is fine!) I’m re-reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix whilst I babysit my nieces during their big sister’s HS football game (niece the eldest is in the band, and her parents are footballaholics). I’m also reading four books on my kindle and have two more by my reading chair. Of these, the one I’m most anxious to get to is The Rightful Queen.

Last Song You Listened To?  Bits of the soundtrack of “The Man of La Mancha have been running through my head for about a week, thanks to my name-picking for Philippa and Dante. :)

Last Series You Watched? Hubby TMC and I are midway through Season 2 of “The Expanse”, and liking it a lot.

Sweet, spicy or savoury?  All of the above, with minimal sweetness. I like candy corn, but usually pick something savory for a snack. (My favorite food is carb+gravy or meat+carb. My sweet tooth is very small.)

Craving?  Meatloaf. Specifically, a leftover-meatloaf sandwich.

Tea or Coffee? Tea--I cannot stand the smell of coffee, and the taste is worse!!

Currently working on? Robin River, healing my feet without taking calcium, and taking care of my compadres.

I’m tagging @valiantlydecadentsuit and @roguebotanist. If you want to be tagged, let me know and I’ll add you, or you can just tag me and say I did it.

[elfpuddle]

Good news, everyone! Compadre and the kids (including BabyInNICU) are all in the recovery stages of Covid. Their tests have come back negative, and they’re cleared for school, work, and other public things. Two people from our parish have volunteered to get the kiddos back and forth from school. We’re running a meal train for the family, and are making sure that they have help with laundry and cleaning. BabyInNICU is off his oxygen, and has been doing very well. Compadre is well enough that he got to go visit BabyInNICU last Sunday night! Comadre is still sedated. She has a leak in her lung, and now has some subcutaneous air from the leak, making her look a bit puffy and weird. Her doctor says the leak is small and should heal itself. She has no air around the lungs and there’s no need for a chest tube or further intervention. She’s basically stable, which is better than getting worse, but not as well as we’re praying for. I’ve been able to sim again, and Robin River will be back this evening. Obviously, we could all still use your prayers, but it’s no longer as extreme as it was. We’ve gone from terrified to scared. Thank you, so very much, for your prayers and love. Thank you for your notes of support. I’m not going to send individual answers and replies, but know that I’ve read them all and I really appreciate them. After my horrible last year+ of medical drama, I know full well that the reason my compadres and I are doing as well as we are is because of all the love and prayers of people like you. God Bless you! Be safe. Be kind. Continue helping your neighbors. Love,

Elfie

[elfpuddle]

I’m one of them. If you’d like to have a conversation, I’m happy to talk.

Have you had any conversations with pro-life women about their beliefs?

[elfpuddle]

An update (of sorts) from me and the family for which I’ve been caring: I don’t think I mentioned it, but one of the issues is that my Compadre, the father of this family, is blind. So we can bring him all the groceries in the world, but without one of the kids, he can’t cook dinner because he can’t read the different boxes and canned goods. His blindness has led to all sorts of hardships and blessings, but not being able to drive in a town with very poor public transportation is one of them. That being the case, they were running out of diapers for DaughterAge1.5.

A mutual friend, pregnant with their third, brought the needed diapers to my house last night so I could deliver them today. And got in a car wreck on the way home. She and her baby spent the night in the ER, and were released at about 4:30 this morning. They will both be okay. Which is good, because I would have a hard time living with myself if she miscarried the baby while helping me help friends. Comadre’s been in and out of ICU for a week. Because of her pregnancy, her body was refusing to help itself and instead was using all the attention and help from the hospital to keep Baby well. He was due October 14. To help them both, she had a c-section today. They were both completely sedated for the birth (Comadre’s been intubated for a while because she isn’t breathing well.) LittleBoy had to be immediately intubated because of the sedation. He started off with 100% oxygen and lots of help from the machine, but he’s already down to 45% oxygen and less than half of his breaths are machine-supported. He weighed 4 pounds, 2 ounces, which isn’t bad for being born at 32 weeks. Neither he nor Comadre are out of the woods, everyone on staff seems genuinely hopeful for both of them. Compadre’s pneumonia isn’t any better, what with taking care of the rest of the family and supporting their online schooling. Now that the his wife and youngest are closer to better, he hopes to be able to rest some. I’ve been running their meal train and organizing groceries and such. My feet hurt worse than they have in a long time, but I hope to be able to give them some rest soon. I hope to be able to get back to Robin River this afternoon. Thank you for your prayers and love, for me, for them, for your own families and friends. Be safe. Be Kind. Love your neighbor.

[elfpuddle]

RepliesAndAnswers

The meta-post addition. When last I replied and answered, I mentioned (some of) the drama that Kitty’s caused.

@charmandersims said: “And yet Kitty is a family sim 😂 Never would have expected this much drama from her, and yet here she (is)”. Right!? She’s Family/Pleasure, but her traits include “inappropriate” and “evil” as well as “hopeless romantic”. I don’t know if those were chosen or rolled by @grimbunnies, but thanks to @hexagonal-bipyramid‘s traits mods, and the high ACR setting Kitty had when I opened the game... It’s just a mess. I absolutely love the traits mods, and how they change play. It really makes for unique characters that I wouldn’t have chosen or created.

[elfpuddle]

RepliesAndAnswers

When Molly Mae died, @grimbunnies said: “I am relieved Erinella was able to save her!”

Me, too! Not just because she’s too young, but with four toddlers, Gideon needs help, especially since Erinella sleeps all day! When the youngest three of those kids became toddlers, and soiled their party diapers together, @tamtam-go92​ said: “Haha classic triplets move xD (My neighbors had triplets and told me they would always haver their diapers filled at the same time xD)”    That’s hilarious! My mom ran a neighborhood daycare. We had a set of twins who would help each other climb to places neither one could get to on their own. Mom found them on top of the dryer reaching for the bleach one day. Kids! They almost supernaturally know what they shouldn’t do, or what would be hardest for us! *shakes head in both admiration and admonishment*                   

[elfpuddle]

My best friend, who happens to be my husband, is in diaconate formation. With God’s help, I’m going to be Mrs Deacon HubbyTMC in July of ‘29. All thanks to a silly game with pixel people and a forum for the players.

ok too many sad things going on in the world. everyone tell me the small little dreams you have for the future. personally i want a little apartment with a pantry full of food and my partner and at least one cat. i want to travel some day and be able to hike again. i want to be happy. your turn?

[elfpuddle]

RepliesAndAnwers

When Philippa visited her parents after Simone’s birth, @tamtam-go92 commiserated, “Sometimes you just grow out of your parents home… “ So true. They weren’t kidding when they said you can never go home again. Sometimes because you need to be on your own, sometimes because you shouldn’t try hiding from your responsibilities, and, apparently, sometimes because you’re a supernatural skeptic and your brother’s a werewolf.

As for editing authors’ works to fit our “modern sensibilities”, @sushigal007 added, “ For me, it depends on whether the changes alter the story. I know, for example that Christie’s novel ‘And Then There Were None’ used to have a far more offensive title containing the N word, as did a nursery rhyme in the text. Changing it didn’t alter the story at all and saved a lot of people from unnecessary pain.”      I respectfully disagree. The Lamb’s editing of Shakespeare is my go-to, but extreme, example. They took out all of the low-brow, dirty jokes and anything that could be said to be unseemly. They didn’t do it because they were prudes, but because they wanted people to be able to enjoy Shakespeare without being offended. I would say that if you don’t want to read (or hear) dirty jokes, stay away from Shakespeare’s comedies (and, to a large extent, the rest of his work). Don’t read Chaucer if you don’t want to see people in power and supposed faith act in indecent and ungodly ways. Don’t want to hear cussing? Stay away from most rap. The list goes on. We have this idea in our society that people need to be protected from things that hurt. My therapist and I think safe spaces are bunk. In the first bit of time after trauma, you are fragile, and shouldn’t take risks, true. I witnessed someone being decapitated, up close and personal, in my junior year of high school. I stay away from horror films, because I don’t need more horror in my life. But I don’t insist that those of you who enjoy horror keep it away from me. It’s my job to learn how to cope and how to deal. I had a miscarriage. I’m infertile, and all I’ve ever wanted is to be a mother. Should I stay all bubble-wrapped and away from all children? No. We adults are responsible for our own behavior, and we need to learn how to live in a society that isn’t safe, isn’t molded to our egos, and is, therefore, a much better place.      To your point about the "N word”, I certainly don’t approve of people just throwing it into casual conversation, because I don’t think there’s a reason to use it that way. But I don’t think we need to edit it out of books. The word is there for a reason, and there it should stay. I know that most of that is not a popular opinion. Ah, well. Guess I’m still one of the unpopular kids. If you’re still in the fragile place, absolutely keep yourself as safe as you can. But we all need to get out of those spaces, because it isn’t healthy to live there. And that was really long. Thank you for getting this far!

[elfpuddle]

1, 11, 33, for the Catholic asks, please?

1. How many siblings do you have? I have four. Two younger brothers (younger! we’re all in our 40s) that I grew up with, and two miscarried siblings...one older than me, and one between my brothers. True fact--I was conceived while Mom could’ve still been pregnant with my older sibling, so I’ve always pictured myself as having an older brother really looking out for me. 11. Have a ever talked to a nun? Yes. Two of my CCD teachers in the 80s were nuns, and when they left our parish, they gave me gifts I still have. More recently, a young college girl whom I adore for her absolute joy in everything, joined a small convent. 33. Why did I join Catholic Tumblr? I dunno, really. I mean, I’m Catholic, and on Tumblr...so it just happened. God is good like that! Thank you for asking!!

Have a blessed day!!